University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's soccer player Ally Fischer turned in two goals as UIS captured a 2-1 victory against the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) on Senior Night during Friday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup at Kiwanis Stadium.
 
"I'm really happy that I could score for the seniors this game," Fischer said. "The whole team played together this game and it showed. Hopefully, this will motivate us to keep scoring in our last two games."
 
"It was a rough first 15 minutes or so, but once we settled down and got on the ball a little bit more, the game changed," UIS coach Erin Egolf added. "Some of the service was fantastic and it was nice to see Ally finish her two chances."
 
Fourteen minutes into the match, UIS's Kayla Meyer played a ball in to Allison Hackett, but Hackett's volley went left of the goal.
 
During the 41st minute of the match, Ally Fischer finished a serve from Lauren Griffin for the score for the Prairie Stars (3-10-2, 3-8). Angela Dagnino and Griffin each earned assists.
 
During the 47th minute, Dagnino fired a shot that struck the post. Fischer rebounded the shot to give UIS a 2-0 lead. Dagnino tallied her second assist of the match. Among UIS Division II single-season leaders, Dagnino is tied for fourth with three assists.
 
UMSL (3-10-1, 2-8-1) attempted a goal kick 54 minutes into the match. As the Tritons tried to maintain possession, Taylor Mraz came up with a breakaway steal for the Prairie Stars, but her shot went left of the goal.
 
UMSL cut the lead to one 72 minutes into the match. Maya Ware took a shot beyond the top-right corner of the box and placed the ball into the net just past the left post. Sydney Bloch received the assist.
 
The Tritons attempted to even the match during the 77th minute when they flicked a header off a free kick to Lexi Norton, but UIS's Paloma Guijarro came up with a critical save.
 
UIS created a strong striking opportunity during the 81st minute. Mraz drove up the second half of the field and sent a cross to Dagnino. Dagnino drilled the shot and it struck the crossbar. Fischer headed the rebound, but UMSL's Natalie Otten came up with the save.
 
One minute later, Rose Crabtree provided a corner kick for the Tritons. Emily Hanewinkel headed the pass to Bloch, who headed the pass high.
 
UMSL got one final crack at tying the game in the final minute. Hanewinkel played a pass to Imogen Bennett. The Tritons received a friendly bounce, but Guijarro collected the ball before Bennett put on a shot.
 
Fischer led the Prairie Stars with four shots, including three shots on goal. Maggie Juhlin contributed three shots, including one on target. Dagnino provided three shots, Meyer registered two shots while Hackett and Mraz each added shots.
 
Hanewinkel posted five shots for the Tritons. Lauren Lottman, Lee Strande and Shannon Rettig tallied three shots apiece. Norton, Ware and Bloch contributed two shots each while Bennett, Rose Crabtree and Taylor Andert each provided shots.
 
Guijarro saved seven of the eight shots she faced.
 
Otten faced four shots and came up with two saves.
 
The Tritons outshot the Prairie Stars by a 23-14 margin and held an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal.
 
"The team truly came together from start to finish to get this win," UIS senior midfielder Jasmin Lisowski stated. "From the start, there was great energy and I could tell that were going to put up a good fight. It felt great to get the win not only because it was Senior Night, but also because the team played as a unit and left everything out on the field."
 
"We rode our luck at times but we battled throughout the entirety of the match and we got a result we deserved. It's always nice to get the win at home, especially on Senior Night. We hope to compete well these last two matches and finish the season on a positive note.
 
SENIOR NIGHT
The Prairie Stars honored Guijarro, Lisowski, Mraz and Kimmie Rickson for Senior Night.
 
Guijarro has competed in 19 matches and started 18 matches as goalkeeper. On Sept. 18, 2017, Guijarro was named the GLVC Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first player in program history to win any player-of-the-week recognition. Guijarro ranks third in UIS Division II history with five career shutouts.
 
Mraz has competed in 62 career matches and started in 36. Among UIS Division II career leaders, Mraz is tied for fourth with six assists, ranks ninth with 14 points and is tied for 10th with four goals.
 
Lisowski has competed in 44 career matches, started in 13 career matches and tallied an assist against McKendree University during her freshman year.
 
Rickson has competed in 35 career matches and started in 14.
 
UP NEXT
UIS challenges Truman State University (11-3-1, 7-3-1) in a GLVC matchup on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Kiwanis Stadium.